Google General Motors and Luxury Cars and Recaro Racing Seats - The Secrets They Share for Brand Management

Updated on April 11, 2015

In the virtual world that I live in, Google is king and yet when I set foot into the real world, Google is 1/4 of the size of General Motors. To those of us who live in the virtual world of the world wide web, it may come as a shocking fact. It did to me. Yes, check out the statistics - both in income and in number of employees - Google is tiny in comparison to General Motors.

So while I follow the activities of Google closely, I am literally ignoring the elephant in the American economy - General Motors. General Motors (GM) as many know filed for bankruptcy and was declared "too big" to fail. In recent years, GM has dramatically changed the style and the quality of its cars. Workers are said to now take a sense of price of ownership. Sales are up and we are actually able to buy an American car once again. What has changed? Many different details, but one stands up visually to me - racing seats. GM has now offered German designed racing seats to many of its vehicles. Recaro is a premier car seat manufacturer. Check out the designs and learn why this German-American partnership is putting GM cars back on the streets. Sales are up and for good reason - one of which is these premier seats.

Why General Motors Matters

General Motors matters because it provides jobs for our families, our neighbors, our national economy. As citizens of the world, we must be better stewards of our actions and deeds. We cannot make intelligent decisions if we do not know the players in the game. As American taxpayers we are paying for the mistakes of General Motors. Yet, the mistake sits squarely on the American people. A cry for better cars should have been vocalized not just monetized. We vote with our pocketbook historically, the Internet has the power to change the American board room. Participate and share your opinion - after all, it is you and I who are paying for the errors of the past.

Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.- Henry Ford | Helping Other People Quotes

Google - Size and Scope Statistics

$29 billion gross revenue (2010)

$10 billion operating income (2010)

Employees 32,500 (2011)

General Motors - Size and Scope Statistics

$136 billion gross revenues (2010)

$5 billion operating income (2010)

Employees 202,000 (2012)

Famous Five Brands of General Motors

Google and General Motors

To give some background, let's take a brief look at the scope of the giants in the industry. Google's number of employees in 2011 was listed as 32,500. This figure is somewhat distorted because some of Google's income is derived from what I will term volunteers - online writers who partner Google to bring in advertising dollars.So the 16% figure is not a true figure for the sake of comparison. But revenues rule all and revenues are 21%. This tells us while Google is king of the virtual world, General Motors has a more dramatic impact upon Americans. The revenues of our car manufacturers send a clear message to every neighborhood both in the cars that are in the garage, the cars on the street and the employment of your neighbors, friends and family.

Employment as we have seen is the key to our economy. It is key to our home values. Employment is the key to the American way of life for us today and for generations yet to come.

We must keep General Motors on track. We as citizens of the world must stand up and shout when manufacturers betray our trust in quality and design. And yes, it is also our duty to shout the praises when they do something right. Recaro seats are a the right partner for American made cars. Let's see why.

The General Motors Brands

The Brands of General Motors | Source

Recardo Racing Seats in the Cadillac CTS

Product Lines of Recaro Seats - Beyond the Racing Seats

Recaro offers seating for airplanes, child seats, home and office. Their product line is define clearly as seat design. They do it better than any other designer. Their divisions include product lines such as:

Aircraft

Child Seats

Home

Office

Racing

And I would add to this list by adding in General Motors as another class. For you see, General Motors, the cars that you and I buy are not "racing cars". The seats may be derived from the design for racing but millions of cars offered by General Motors are not 'racing'. Adding racing seats to the standard American car is a brilliant idea for adding luxury, comfort and style.

Recaro Airplane Seats

History of Recaro - Master Saddler Reinvented

The fact in history we must take special note of for Recaro, is they reinvented themselves. They started began in Germany in 1906 by a man named Wilhelm Reutter and his shop was known as Reutter Carosserie-Werke.

Who was Wilhelm Reutter? He was a 32-year old master saddler who would refine his business plan to best suit the marketplace, moving from saddles to limousine bodies to the exclusive racing seats that we know them best for today.

During the 1920s the company focused upon manufacturing limousine bodies. What is important is their next chapter in their history. During the 1930s, the need for limousine bodies was diminished. It was at this time, the company turned its attention to the production of automobile bodies for the Volkswagen Beattle and later the Porsche. It was the Porsche that lead them to develop their world renown specialty as we know them today - the bucket seat for the racing car.

Recaro's Product Line Today

Recaro Today services the automobile industry throughout the world and throughout a broad array of car brands and nationalities. Additionally, Recaro offer airline seats, baby seats and through a Dutch company Sun Marine Seats manufactures Recaro Maritime boat seats.

Custom Recaro Racing Seats | Source

Recaro Racing Seats

Pair of Recaro Racing Seats in Blue and Black | Source

Recaro Booster Car Seat

Link to the Recaro Website

RECARO: HomeWilhelm Reutter founded his coach company for automobiles on the Schlossstrasse in Stuttgart in 1906. In 1912 introduced patented “Reutter’s Reform Coach”, a predecessor of the present cabriolet.
1921
Small-lot production

Recaro Racing Seats in the Global Automobile World

Aston Martin DB9, V12 Vanquish, V8 Vantage

Audi TT, TT RS

Cadillac CTS-V

Chevrolet Cobalt SS

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Ford Focus RS, Focus ST

Honda Accord Type-R, Integra Type-R, NSX Type-R, Odyssey

Lamborghini Gallardo

Mitsubishi Evo IX, Lancer Wagon, ek-Sports RS

Opel Astra OPC, Insignia OPC, Zafira OPC

Porsche 911 GT3 (997) and Carrera GT

Renault Clio „Renault Sport“ and Mégane Sport

Saturn Ion Redline

Suzuki Kei-Works and Lapin

VW

Share Your Thoughts

Do you think Recardo seats add value to the General Motor automobile design?

Appreciation of Recaro Seats

The Cadillac CTS-V is an exceptional use of an exceptional seat in an exceptional car. Yet, the marketplace has openly stated that most CTS owners don't fully appreciate the Recaro seats. Are they too sporty? Or just too new? I feel that they are just too new. Change is hard. Remember the days of smoking and smoking was allowed everywhere because it was glamorous? It took our decades to get smart on the subject of smoking. The same is true with this new style. It is simply too new. The added quality in seats is a great move by General Motors. I believe the popularity of this luxury option will grow - once the styling and the history is fully understood by the cars buyers from around the world.

Ford Motor Company

Gross Revenues $129 billion (2010)

$7 billion operating income (2010)

Employees 164,000 (2010)

Ford owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK.

Products Pay Wages

It is not the employer who pays wages - he only handles the money. It is the product that pays wages.- Henry Ford | Capitalism Quotes

Secret of Success is in the Seats

The secret of success is more than the seats. It is ownership and pride in workmanship and a partnering with the best of the best. Recaro seats are just one example where American ingenuity can combine effectively together for a car that desired by the American public. Remember, it if won't sell here in the States, why would the world receive this car? We must seek higher standards. The secret to success is not in the seats, it is the global view of partnering for the best product to make the consumer desire the product at hand.

Ironically the founder of Ford, a man by the name of Henry Ford stated this best:

"It is not the employer who pays wages - he only handles the money. It is the product that pays wages."

A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.Henry Ford

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.Henry Ford

Do you think the Recaro partnership was a critical step in the return to profitability for General Motors?

Do you believe the wages and benefits of General Motors are now a public concern?

Return to General Motors Profitability

I have heard the real reason for the need for the General Motors bailout was beyond the company, it was the pensions and benefits. Whatever the real reason for the financial crisis, the fact remains the product was not what the American public nor the world wanted.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) who was an American industrialist and the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line was first and foremost an inventor.

I believe Henry's quotes about the marketplace are very appropriate - it is products that keep the company profitable. Keep in mind, the United States' car market is controlled by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. These three industry giants are often referred to as the "Big Three". In recent years a new term has developed for these three - the "Detroit Three". Nonetheless, these companies dominate the worldwide production of automobiles.

The reorganization of the company was needed. The wage and benefit structure, in my humble opinion must continue to be addressed in order to remain competitive globally. An overpriced product is still an overpriced product. Bringing value to their product line, I feel was achieved by recognizing the marketplace is now global. Adding a partnership for an upgrade with the racing seats offered by Recaro was forward thinking. To slack off in either design or in efficiencies of production will determine the real future of the company moving forward.

The wages and benefits of General Motors are no longer a "private" concern. The company was assisted by the American taxpayers. Overpaying workers is a social benefit that our leaders have voted for. The deal is done but recognizing the financial impact upon each of us is an item that must be known to every citizen of America. Pay and benefits of the General Motors workers is an issue for each of us. The design of the automobiles is always within the hands of the company who controls the production, however, it is the design and the cost of the product that determine the profitability.

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